


Springtime Lovers

by chanyeoliravioli



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Love Triangles, M/M, Slice of Life, goodboy!sehun, sportykid!jongin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-18
Updated: 2017-05-25
Packaged: 2018-09-09 14:39:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8894524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chanyeoliravioli/pseuds/chanyeoliravioli
Summary: Sehun just wants to focus on being the perfect student and avoid getting romantically involved with anyone. But a high school is full of drama and eventually, Sehun gets dragged in.





	1. The Ball

**Author's Note:**

> I'm finally back in writing fanfics, yay! I deleted my LJ account after my longest writing block but it's time to have a fresh start. I'm filled with new ideas for one-shots but I'm the most excited to focus on this story. Enjoy!

Sehun hated spring.

Hate is actually too mild of a word to describe how unbelievably irritated he became every time winter made its melancholic exodus after forcing people to shiver for months in the chilly weather. Winter wasn’t exactly his favorite time of the year but at least it didn’t make him want to pull his hair out like the first spring morning did every year. 

It wasn’t really the weather that bothered him. Sehun was happy how days became sunnier and warmer every day until the summer break would already be knocking on the door and Sehun was ready to welcome summer eagerly and with open arms. He was a high school student with loads of school work straining his back through the whole year after all.

In actuality, he wasn’t just any student.

He was a _brilliant_ student.

And that is actually the reason why he disliked this particular season so much. Even the ever so beautiful spring days couldn’t calm his mind when the rest of the students went straight-off crazy when the spring semester officially began which was almost like a holy manifesto of summer coming closer and closer. 

For Sehun, it was a nice motivation to focus more on doing well in the exams. But for the rest of the students, it meant it was already the right moment to mentally show their middle fingers to all school duties and become as restless as they pleased.

‘Restless’ might also be a too mild of a word to describe the ruthless reality. Well, it was going to be ruthless for Sehun at least.

~*~*~

“Kris, come back here and sit down. I know you’re not doing anything there.”

 

Kris sighed dramatically as he turned away from the book shelf where he had been pretending to be searching for a book for five minutes now. It was too bad Sehun knew his best friend well enough to know he never read books so it was obvious he was just trying to fool Sehun.

 

“Come on, Sehunnie. We’ve been studying long enough, let’s take a break.”

“We have barely started. Why would you even ask me to tutor you if you’re not even trying?”

 

Sehun was not one to help others out so it mightily irritated him when the blonde teen wasn’t paying any attention after the first ten minutes. They had just settled in the school library and Kris had been more than excited to let his friend help him out but Sehun had known better than expect perfect attention from a light-headed guy like Kris. If it had been anyone else asking for his tutoring, Sehun would have declined politely. But he had developed a soft spot for Kris that he would never be willing to admit.

So they were stuck in the almost empty library without being able to really do anything.

After giving Sehun his most convincing puppy eyes and not receiving a more satisfying reaction than a dead-pan stare from the younger, Kris groaned and made his way back to the table and sat down across from Sehun. Sehun could read from Kris’ faked sad-face that the boy wasn’t going to focus on getting tutored anymore no matter how harshly Sehun would try to make him listen.

Sometimes he really wondered who exactly the older one between the two of them was.

 

“I had to ask you! I did so badly in the mid-term exams, you should have seen my father’s face. I can’t fail my finals too.”

“Then you should open your study books and let me tutor you, just like you asked. I have my own things to do too, you know.”

 

Kris pouted in displeasure. Sehun wondered what people would think if they saw the ever so manly and handsome Kris Wu pulling these silly faces of his in front of them.

Sehun never paid attention to gossips and rumors that spread around the school like a disease but only a really dumb person wouldn’t be aware of how popular Kris was. Kris might not have been the brightest student but his looks and his alluring nature made up for anything he was lacking in; he had the body of an athlete, the face of a model and the attitude of the most self-confident person on Earth. There probably was no girl in the whole school who didn’t have any wet dreams about Kris.

And Sehun was in the small minority of people who had a hard time believing Kris’ perfectness or rather taking it seriously. He had known Kris ever since he was an awkward middle schooler after all. He was probably one of the only ones who knew how Kris looked like with his natural black hair too. Kris had started dyeing his hair so early that even Sehun had a hard time remembering when was the last time Kris had looked relatively basic and didn’t stand out of the crowd like a shining star.

It was not like Sehun wasn’t just as good-looking. The two of them actually shared the same nicknames that some of the girls in the school used of them.

Sehun couldn’t hate those names more than he already did.

 

“Are you going to attend the spring ball this year by the way?”

 

Sehun looked like he couldn’t be more disinterested in answering Kris. Kris was clearly just trying to avoid talking about studying any longer and Sehun wasn’t really feeling like trying to force the elder into doing something he wasn’t going to do anyway. So he just sighed in defeat and started packing his books back to his backpack as Kris kept staring him, waiting for an answer.

 

“Why would I attend the ball? Of course not.”

“Right, because you’re so antisocial.”

“I’m not!”

“Then why do you refuse to come? It’s way better than any house party. Yixing and Tao are coming too. Luhan as well, probably.”

“I hate house parties too.”

“Of course you do.”

 

Sehun had gotten to the point he was more than ready to just leave the library to avoid talking about the stupid ball. Running to escape wasn’t really an option though since Kris’ legs were far longer and faster so he would reach Sehun in no time and keep persuading him like a maniac.

The spring ball was an annually arranged event for all the students of the school who wanted to come which, not so surprisingly, made Sehun hate spring just a little more. He really didn’t have anything against the idea of it; he was sure there was a reason why the students wanted to hold it every single year. But it also meant that Sehun had to run away from girls who wanted him to take them out through the whole semester. Sehun really didn’t want to be rude and turn all those girls down every year but honest to god; he just really didn’t give a fuck about the whole ball.

And he was more ready to choke himself to death than go to such a futile event to waste his time.

 

“I do have a marvelous idea though.”

 

Sehun had somehow missed how the look in Kris’ eyes had turned mischievous and the corners of his lips were curved into a small smirk.

He really didn’t want to hear any of Kris’ ideas as they usually were anything but marvelous. Stupid and straight-off frenetic was far closer to the truth.

 

“Please spare me from having to hear it.”

“Don’t be like that! It’s a really good one.”

“As good as when you decided to come over to my house when I had told you I had homework to do, climbed up the drainpipe trying to reach my window, fell down midway and almost broke your arm?”

 

Kris looked like someone had just told him the Moon was actually made of cheese.

 

“That was years ago.”

“And you haven’t gotten any smarter.”

“Just right what the Einstein of the school would say, thanks. Just shut up for a second now, okay?”

 

Sehun stared Kris straight into his eyes and kept his lips sealed. There were few people in the surrounding tables who kept giving curious looks towards them but turned their heads immediately if Sehun turned to look at them, eyebrows knitted together in annoyance.

Sehun kept silent for few seconds and that was enough of an encouragement for Kris. The latter bent over the table to come closer to Sehun, the earlier smirk back on his plump lips. Their noses almost touched as they continued staring each other and Sehun kind of wanted to pull away. But it wasn’t anything unusual from Kris to enter Sehun’s personal space so he didn’t really mind.

Kris was the only one Sehun allowed to do this; come awfully close to him and touch him without asking for permissions. Sehun knew he was known around the school to seem like a distant person who would be too cool to talk to anyone which made most of people keep their distance to him.

Except all the female students when the spring ball was coming closer and closer and getting a good-looking guy as your date became the most important mission.

He did talk to Minseok, Tao, Yixing and Luhan quite frequently so it wasn’t quite the truth that he didn’t talk to people. But it was Kris whose close friendship with Sehun was the reason people saw that getting close with Sehun really wasn’t an impossible thing to achieve.

But Sehun swore there was never going to be anyone in his life that he would let to do this to him; a cold trail of sweat was already running down his temple as Kris’ face was so close to his that he could hear how their breathings mingled together.

Sehun could also swear he heard a quiet squeak somewhere behind him. He felt against the urge to grunt. He could only imagine how this must look like to others with their oddly close set-up.

There were tons of rumors about Kris and him already, or so Kris had told him. The younger had a hard time trying to believe it but it was not like he cared if it was true or not.

No one’s opinion ever mattered to Sehun.

 

“I was just thinking…”

 

Kris’ voice was barely a whisper. Sehun could feel chills running down his spine, merely for the intensity of his friend’s baritone voice.

 

“…That maybe this year…”

 

There was going to be a harsh slap against the blonde boy’s cheek if he decided to come any closer.

 

“…We could go together. To the ball.”

 

The slap didn’t come but the shrill screech of Sehun’s chair was just as loud.

 

Kris still remained in his position, not moving an inch as he stared at Sehun who looked so awkward and flustered at the same time. He was still pulling his chair further away from Kris as if the lanky boy would attack any minute and eat him for lunch.

 

“Have you gone absolutely mad, Wu Yi Fan?”

 

The sudden sensuality disappeared as Kris looked like he was just about to burst to laugh. The amusement was clear in his voice meanwhile Sehun was debating inside his head if he should deliver the bitch slap or not. He decided not as it might be a shame to ruin such a model-like face.

 

“Come on, it would be fun!”

“How could _that_ in any possible way be _fun?_!”

“Because we’re the princes, isn’t it obvious?”

 

And there came the awful nickname that Sehun hated with all his heart.

Sehun brought a finger against his lips to gesture the still-laughing boy to fucking shut up. It only made Kris crack up even more.

Being two relatively good-looking boys with a close relationship to each other did make other people to come up with hideous-sounding names. Kris had told him the first day of school that he had heard some girl calling him a prince. Sehun had only let out a bridle and didn’t bother himself too much with the information. Hearing a group of girls whispering to each other and calling him ‘a prince’ as he passed them actually complimented him, even though he hadn’t let anyone see it. He had only continued walking down the corridor, his chin held up high. After a month of hearing ‘prince’ more than his actual name, he had become annoyed.

And annoyed he had been ever since.

 

“So you just want to feed the flames and make sure people will never stop using such embarrassing names about us?”

 

Sehun really wasn’t going to give a flying fuck about Kris’ admired face if he was going to say something to irritate Sehun even further. He was more than sure those few other people in the silent library had heard the entire conversation and that was enough for the younger to feel like wanting to disappear. Kris, oh so surprisingly indeed, looked like he was witnessing something extraordinarily hilarious.

 

"There are girls here who love seeing us two together. I don’t see why it would be so bad to give them what they want.”

“You’re supposed to go to the ball with a person you’d like to go out with. It’s like a date, for Heaven’s sake. And you definitely are the last person I’d want to go out with like that.”

“Ouch, that hurt.”

“It was supposed to hurt.”

“But Sehunnie…”

 

Kris’ words and whiny voice was enough to turn Sehun’s alarms on just in time. And so this time, Sehun was the faster one and stood up before Kris had the time to bend over the table again to pull Sehun close to him. Kris gave him a saddened expression again. He had only had the time to lift his bottom off his chair to lean closer before Sehun had jumped up.

 

“Please stop calling me that.”

“What, Sehunnie? It sounds cute.”

“And I’m not cute.”

“That’s true. ‘Grumpy’ describes you better.”

“I’m not like that either.”

“Yes, you are. You used to be cute too. Like that one time in middle school when you got a B in a test and cried like there was no tomorrow. Definitely gonna remember that forever.”

“I did not cry!”

“Oh yes, you did. You were very adorable.”

“I’ll burn all your porn stashes if you say that one more time."

“That hurt too, Sehunnie.”

 

Sehun might not have warmed up to Kris’ idea to accompany him for the spring ball but he still managed to drag Sehun along to lunch even though the younger kept complaining how he should be studying over the lunch break and how he’ll fail all his exams if he won’t study for at least thirty minutes still.

“You already look like a rotten noodle. You have to eat.” Kris had laughed whole-heartedly when Sehun managed to look even more pissed off after his comment.

 

So they were seated in one of the tables in the lunchroom; Sehun sitting beside Kris on his right side as Tao had immediately sat on the left side of the tallest boy once Sehun and Kris had entered the hall and joined Tao, Yixing and Luhan. Yixing and Luhan sat across from them, Luhan looking as cheerful as ever. Yixing looked like he might fall asleep at any second. The three were mostly Kris’ friends actually but Sehun agreed to join their group quite often as Kris always insisted. Sehun would normally be buried in his books or eat with his classmate Minseok but he didn’t mind Tao, Yixing and Luhan’s presence every now and then.

Luhan was actually one of Sehun’s secret favorite people. There were times when Sehun actually responded to Luhan’s wide grin with a delicate smile. It always made the angelic-looking boy smile even brighter.

Luhan was smiling just as prettily as always, clearly enlightened by Sehun’s uncommon presence. Even Yixing had smirked when Sehun had sat down. And that was a very big reaction from Yixing who was usually either too sleepy or too high to really care about anything.

Sehun had asked Kris once if Yixing was a lot different when he wasn’t on drugs. Kris had only shrugged and told that he was only a little more passive and chiller. Sehun hadn’t asked for more details even though he was a little curious to know more.

A cool and a little popular student or not, Sehun had always been too inoffensive to even try smoking a cigarette.

He wondered if Kris smoked when he wasn’t hanging out with Sehun. He probably did.

 

“I’ve finally chosen who I want to take out to the ball! I’m so excited!”

 

Luhan looked like he couldn’t really stand still. _Not again_ , was Sehun’s first thought. He was sure Kris would bring up his suggestion again if they started talking about this nonsense.

 

“Really?” Yixing voiced out first, surprisingly. “I just agreed to go with the first girl who asked. Can’t remember her name though.”

“You probably don’t even remember how she looks like.”

“That’s okay. She remembers me so I’ll just pretend I remember her too.”

 

Luhan just shook his head in disbelief, still smiling though. Sehun prayed Luhan wouldn’t ask him next. But of course Sehun wasn’t lucky enough to be spared.

 

“Are you going this year, Sehun?”

“Uh… no, I don’t think so.”

“I told Sehunnie he should come with me. It would be so much fun, wouldn’t it?”

 

That comment earned mixed reactions. Sehun shot Kris a death glare. Luhan nodded his head enthusiastically. Yixing breathed out a laugh. Sehun heard Tao scoffing.

 

“I don’t see why it would be fun.”

“Oh please, Tao. You know how much people ship those two. Sure it would be funny.”

 

Of course Tao had a negative reaction, Sehun thought. Everyone knew by now that Tao had been crushing on Kris ever since they started hanging out in the beginning of the first school year. Kris was the only one who seemed to be completely oblivious. Or maybe he just avoided to bring it up, Sehun didn’t know for sure.

He and Kris didn’t talk about such things as love life despite their closeness; mostly because Sehun’s only true love was getting good grades and he avoided having to socialize more than he had to, so obviously he wasn’t too interested in dating anyone. He did know Kris had hooked up with several girls in the school though.

Sehun felt a little bit bad for Tao. He didn’t care about the fact some people thought he had a romantic relationship with Kris but he wished Kris could tone it down a little when Tao was around.

Tao was an okay person after all and Sehun did want to stay on his good side.

To Sehun’s luck, the conversation didn’t continue anywhere from that as cheerful laughing and shouting broke the rather peaceful atmosphere in the hall and made the five boys and the rest of the students turn their heads to where the sudden noises were coming from. The double doors to the lunchroom were slammed open and a group of boys entered the room and everyone was smiling and singing some kind of a victory song; clapping their hands, throwing arms around their friends’ shoulders and giving high fives to each other.

Sehun recognized the group immediately.

A new student in school definitely wouldn’t recognize Sehun to be more than a hard-working student and let alone anywhere near popular. People didn’t roam around him, compliment him all the time nor did he have a big group of friends and acquaintances. He didn’t attend house parties or any other gatherings like the rest of the popular kids. Sehun was admired from a good distance for his smartness and handsomeness, and that was the thing. Only secret admirers who dreamed about him. Kris was a lot better with people and so his admirers weren’t as shy as Sehun’s. But Kris still chose to rather spend time with Luhan, Yixing and Tao than get to know the other popular people.

That was also a reason why people called Kris and Sehun ironically the royalties of the school; they had everything they needed to become popular yet they remained unreachable and preferred each other’s company over being in groups.

It was always the two of them. Their friendship was the only thing that mattered to Sehun just as much as his success in school.

The distant princes.

Sehun didn’t believe there was anything as ridiculous as the things people came up with about him and Kris.

The group of boys who were now busy with filling their trays with food and singing victory songs were a completely different thing. They were the actual popular ones. They all belonged to the school’s basketball team. There were many different sport teams but the basketball team was the one who kept winning all tournaments one by one, year after year. They all were both good-looking and even more athletic than Kris was. They always made sure they were noticed when entering the room and all girls from Sehun’s classes started sighing in admiration if even one of the guys passed them. Many of them were also bullies.

To cut a long story short, they were everything that Sehun hated.

Noisy and haughty brats.

The team captain Park Chanyeol was known to be the biggest bully. Minseok had told Sehun once that Chanyeol often picked on him during classes. Luhan had said he often saw the tall boy shoving others during gym classes. Even now he was the loudest as he dropped his tray with a bang to a nearby table where the whole gang soon followed him.

Park Chanyeol, Byun Baekhyun, Kim Junmyeon, Do Kyungsoo, Kim Jongdae and Kim Jongin.

The most liked yet most hated people in the school.

 

“Did one of them finally lose their virginity or what’s the fuss?” Tao sounded almost bitter and continued eating the piece of bread he had in his hand, angrily-squinted eyes never leaving the lousy gang. Sehun didn’t wonder at all why the cat-like boy sounded so displeased.

Kris or anybody else had never told it straight to him but Chanyeol and the others apparently bullied the foreign students in the school. The reason why Kris had become friends with Luhan, Yixing and Tao was because they were all part of the small minority of Chinese students in the whole school. Sehun was positive they left Kris and Yixing alone since Yixing wasn’t only someone who was always on drugs but also the biggest dealer in school. Kris was too far above everyone else to be bullied. He wasn’t so sure about Tao. But Luhan was such an innocent human-being that he was a propitious victim for bullying.

Sehun glanced at Luhan. He really did look startled.

 

“I heard they won the match against another school that has a really tough team. Another reason for them to be so stupidly proud", Kris clarified.

The lunch break went on and they quickly changed the subject. No one started talking about the spring ball again which was something Sehun was very happy about. They could hear loud yells and laughs from Chanyeol’s table quite often which always made Tao and Kris roll their eyes and Luhan looked like a prey waiting for a possible primal.

They were just about to take their trays and leave and Luhan and Sehun were still having a discussion about the upcoming history exam when the older boy suddenly looked terrified and started shaking like a leaf in autumn wind.

Sehun furrowed his eyebrows and lifted his gaze.

It was the one and only Park Chanyeol.

Behind him were two other boys whose name tags Sehun had to check. 

They were Baekhyun and Jongin.

Chanyeol was definitely shorter than Kris but he still looked giant with his broad shoulders and manly features. The low tone in his voice was enough to make Luhan look like he wanted to run off.

 

“My friend Baekhyun here told me you didn’t give him the batch yesterday like you promised, Yixing.”

 

Chanyeol tapped one of his friend’s shoulder who supposedly was Baekhyun. He didn’t look too happy at all. Sehun moved his eyes to the other boy on Chanyeol’s right side, Kim Jongin.

The tanned boy was staring right back at Sehun which took Sehun by surprise. He didn’t look a single bit ashamed that he had been caught; he actually did no move to tear his eyes off Sehun. And Sehun stared right back.

Chanyeol might be tall and attractive in his manly way but it was definitely Jongin who just managed to take Sehun’s breath away. He finally woke up from his trance and quickly turned his head to look at Yixing.

_Had he been staring the whole time?_

Tao, Kris and Luhan were looking at Yixing as if he had just betrayed them all. Yixing didn’t look too interested as he only stared back at Chanyeol who was relatively calm.

 

“There has been some trouble that I have to handle before I can continue dealing in school again. You’ll get your weed next week.”

“Yeah, you better keep your word. I don’t really like being lied to.”

“I didn’t even ask your friend to pay beforehand, man. I haven’t stolen your money.”

“I don’t care about that. I want that weed.” It was Baekhyun now who opened his mouth. He actually sounded irritated, unlike Chanyeol.

 

Yixing managed to convince Chanyeol and Baekhyun that there was no problem and everything was going to get sorted out for next week. The third guy, Jongin, didn’t open his mouth the whole time and he still stayed silent when the three finally left their table and joined the rest of the gang. Sehun didn’t have the nerve to look at the guy again to see if he was still staring. Sehun wondered why Kim Jongin had even come along in the first place. He hadn’t looked threatening or ominous. Quite the opposite; he was looking at Sehun as if he was curious and wanted to really observe him from head to toe.

Kris was the first one to open his mouth when he had made sure Chanyeol, Baekhyun and Jongin were far enough to not hear them.

 

“Are you _fucking_ crazy?! You’re dealing for Park Chanyeol and his people?”

 

Tao and Luhan looked like they also required an answer. Sehun didn’t understand why it was so big of a deal. He had already believed Yixing sells drugs for pretty much everyone but clearly that wasn’t the truth.

Yixing was just as chill as always, ignoring the three pairs of eyes that were glaring at him. Sehun just kept spinning his head, not knowing who exactly he should look at.

The feeling that had filled his whole body from head to toe after catching Kim Jongin, definitely one of the most wanted boys in school, staring at him was still bothering him too much anyway.

 

“You all have told me you don’t want to know who I deal to.”

“That doesn’t answer the damn question!”

“Why wouldn’t I deal with them? Almost all of Chanyeol’s friends buy shit from me. It isn’t a problem.”

“He just came to us to talk about drugs! In the middle of a school day! Anyone could have heard! Who is that irresponsible?”

“Keep calm, Kris. I’ve dealt with them for forever now. It’s my business anyway.”

“It’s not your business only when we are present too!”

 

Kris and Yixing kept arguing for a long moment before they both got too tired to continue. Tao and Luhan opened their mouths to say something too every now and then but it was mostly just Kris telling Yixing he was absolutely stupid and Yixing looked like he was about to strangle himself at any moment so he wouldn’t have to listen.

Eventually, they left the lunchroom and Kris avoided being close to Yixing the whole time.

Sehun, in the other hand, wasn’t even fazed by the incident. He was too occupied to get rid of the weird feeling that had captured him under Jongin’s stare.

Kris threw his arm lazily around Sehun shoulders as the two of them parted ways with Tao, Luhan and Yixing. Kris and Sehun entered a hallway and Sehun immediately felt like he was being eyed again. The corridor was crowded so it was impossible to know who was responsible for making him feel like this or was he just going crazy.

Kris suddenly squeezed his shoulders almost protectively but didn’t say anything.

Perhaps he wasn’t crazy.


	2. The Encounter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An update! Yay!  
> This took longer than intended and I'm sorry for that! I've been very busy with school. Anyway, the feedback to the first chapter was so positive that it gave me a massive boost to finish this chapter even though I should be studying lmao. Thank you all so much and enjoy the second chapter!

“Come on, Sehun! You should think about me too!”

 

Sehun met Minseok’s gaze with an unimpressed look in his eyes before turning his attention back to the food that had remained untouched on his plate for the last ten minutes. He could tell his friend was still looking at him with pleading eyes but he did nothing to acknowledge it so the older boy was forced to continue his moment of frustration.

 

“I’ve never been to the spring ball! It’s not fair you’re getting all these girls lining up to ask you out. What about me?”

 

The heaviest sigh left Sehun’s lips as he put his plastic fork down. His eyes didn’t meet Minseok’s before he glanced at the vexed girl who was leaving the lunchroom with hurried steps, nearing the group of other girls who had clearly been waiting at the door to follow the events.

Sehun recognized each of them by faces. They all had tried their luck with approaching him during the week, all of them having the same ulterior motive.

One of them noticed Sehun’s stare and in a second, they all hurried away.

Sehun bored eyes finally met Minseok’s furious ones.

 

“What do you mean I’m not thinking about you?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“No, Minseok, it is not.”

 

It was Minseok’s turn to sigh in frustration. Sehun picked the fork and started playing with his food that he had already abandoned to get cold and to be dumped to the trash bin later on.

 

“That girl had such a glimpse of hope in her eyes when she came to you and look what you did.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yes, you do! At least tell them that your awfully sweet, nice and generous friend Kim Minseok here doesn’t have a date yet.”

 

Sehun furrowed his eyebrows, slightly curious how this conversation was going to turn out. “It’s me who they’re asking out, not you.”

Minseok didn’t look impressed at all. “I bet Kris would do that for me if I asked him.”

“I bet he would.”

 

It wasn’t like Minseok’s suggestion was a bad idea in Sehun eyes. The teenager was just too awkward already whenever a girl came to ask him to the ball so taking the effort to not just say ‘no’ but also mentioning his classmate sounded so troublesome that the boy would rather pass.

Sehun didn’t mind his reputation as ‘the quiet kid’ but it was situations like this that did bother him to some extent. Despite of not being a big fan of people, Sehun really did like his classmate Kim Minseok sincerely. Kris had known Sehun since middle school but it was Minseok who had been so determined to befriend Oh Sehun ever since they started high school. Sehun had been completely shocked to have this short boy with a cute, gummy smile following him around but eventually, they had become friends.

There were only few people Sehun believed to be entirely genuine but Minseok was definitely one of them.

 

Minseok looked upset which made Sehun give an apologetic look. But as the cheerful boy he was, Minseok was quick to start smiling again and move to another topic much to Sehun’s joy.

 

“You still haven’t told me anything about what happened on Monday.”

“What do you mean?”

“Stop playing stupid all the time! You know what I mean. Everyone saw how Chanyeol approached you and Kris’ group.”

 

Of course Sehun knew exactly what Minseok meant. He just didn’t really know what to say.

It had been exactly four days since Park Chanyeol and his two gang members Byun Baekhyun and Kim Jongin came to demand Yixing to hurry up with relaying drugs that Byun Baekhyun had apparently been anticipating. The crazy thing about it was the fact it happened in the middle of a school day in this exact lunchroom where Sehun and Minseok were seated at the moment and the intruders didn’t sensor their language at all and said it bluntly that it was about drugs.

Had it been an idiotic and careless mistake to talk so directly or just a way to show off how superior they were? Sehun didn’t know. But what he did know and still kept denying was the fact how disappointed he was.

He had expected something else to happen. He had come to school the next morning anticipating for something… He didn’t know _what_ exactly he was anticipating but after being confronted by the most admired group in the school, Sehun had thought things would change. But no, they had not.

Yixing apparently got the issue sorted out since the gang left them completely alone as if they had never even paid attention to the small group of Chinese boys and Sehun. Kris had taken zero contact to Yixing for two days but the boys sorted it out yesterday as Kris just didn’t feel like staying mad at Yixing anymore.

In a way, it was an awakening feeling how much Sehun had wished for things to change, even a little. He had been telling himself repeatedly for forever that he felt completely fine with his rather simple life with school work controlling most of his time and few friends taking his thoughts elsewhere every now and then.

But Sehun didn’t know what it felt like to be both so nervous and yet so excited at the same time. And the unfamiliar feeling that filled his chest when Kim Jongin gazed at him was something that kept bothering him, making him want more.

What that ‘more’ was exactly? It was a question Sehun couldn’t make himself able to answer.

Because despite of it all; Sehun hated Park Chanyeol, Sehun hated the school’s supercilious basketball team and Sehun hated, _hated_ boys like Kim Jongin.

 

Sehun clearly hadn’t even noticed the growing silence before Minseok demanded again to hear about last Monday’s happenings.

 

“It really wasn’t anything. Yixing owed something to Baekhyun and they decided to be very straight-forward about it. I just happened to sit with Kris and his friends that lunch break.” Sehun made sure to not mention Baekhyun asking for his weed since Minseok was definitely a person who would scream that out-loud accidentally in a full lunchroom.

 

“Really?” The disappointment was unmistakable in both Minseok’s voice and face. “What on earth would Kris’ friend owe to Byun Baekhyun?”

“I don’t know that, Minseok.”

“Ah, I was so sure it was something about Yixing’s… businesses.” The strawberry-blonde shrugged and took a sip from his glass of water.

Sehun, in the other hand, almost spewed his water out his mouth.

 

“You… know about Yixing?”

It was Minseok’s turn to look surprised. “Yeah? Almost everybody does.”

“That guy…” Sehun sighed, shaking his head in disbelief. “All students know… It’s just a matter of time until one of the teachers finds out.”

“Hmm, there’s also rumors he has very rich parents. I’m sure his mommy or daddy would bribe the teacher.

“Money really gives you everything in this world.”

“Everything but a date to the spring ball.”

~*~*~

His slender fingers probed the rough material of the pages, a habit of his that he has had pretty much always. The sun was still bright and it was a propitious chance to take a seat next to the only big window in the whole library to enjoy the weather while studying. Since it was Friday, most of the students had gone home which allowed the library to be nice and quiet.

Well, it would be nice and quiet if a certain blonde would stop puckering paper balls and tossing poor Sehun with them.

Sehun dropped the history book from his hands onto the table with a loud thud, his murderous eyes lifting from the book to stare at his best friend.

Kris was already going to toss another ball but retreated happily when he finally got the younger student’s attention.

  
“Could you _please_ stop interrupting my studying?”

“Unfortunately, I cannot. Who on Earth studies when it’s Friday and the classes are over?”

Sehun rolled his eyes. Sometimes he wondered if he chose his friends very wisely. “Me.”

“I can see that, smartass. But you promised to hang out with me this weekend!”

 

And with that, the puppy eyes were back. It looked kind of hilarious with Kris’ strong and sharp features, Sehun had to admit.

 

“We didn’t choose the day which means I can study today and see you on Saturday or Sunday.”

“But I want to be with you now!”

“Too bad, I don’t.”

“Then I just won’t leave you alone until you agree to come and hang out with me.”

“Please, do leave.”

“Only if you come to the spring ball with me.”

 

Sehun met Kris’ mischievous smile with incredulous eyes, his eyebrows knitted together. Kris hadn’t brought up his suggestion once since Monday. He had almost started to believe the blonde had decided to drop the offer and move to the first girl who asks him out but apparently, he had been wrong.

Finally, Sehun let out a sigh. Kris only continued to smile, tilting his head.

 

“I told you already that I don’t want to go.”

“And I told you that you should go. You never do anything to please me, why can you not do that to me just once when I’m asking you?” Kris’ expression was still soft but Sehun could hear the growing annoyance in the way the elder spoke.

And Sehun was growing annoyed too.

“Why should I please you? That is not something I need to do.”

 

Now Kris’ smile was gone too. Sehun hated arguing with Kris because it was moments like this that proved just how differently they thought about things. But Sehun didn’t like how Kris talked like he was supposed to agree with him no matter what. Sehun had his own mind too.

“I always keep up with you even though you never come to look for me, it’s always me who comes to find you. I’m completely fine with how little contact you take to me despite how close we are. I deal with your antisocial personality so why can’t you be social for my sake just once?”

 

Okay, now it was definitely a fight.

Both of the boys had their arms crossed over their chests, eyes giving out just how much neither of them wanted to lose this argument. Completely different people or not, Kris and Sehun could both be very hot-headed when disagreements occurred.

“You know I don’t want to come. You know very well it would make me uncomfortable. Yet you keep persuading me as if it doesn’t matter to you.” Sehun’s voice was as calm as always but even a stupid person could tell he was starting to get angry.

And Kris was nowhere near pleased either.

 

“You’re just embarrassed.”

“Why would I be?”

“Because you don’t like the names people call us. Because you don’t like the rumors people tell about us.”

“What, should I feel embarrassed because some people actually believe I want to be together with _you_?”

 

Okay, that came out way harsher than Sehun had intended. But this wasn’t the first time Kris implied Sehun was bothered how some female students liked the idea of the “school royalties” being romantically involved with each other. Sehun had said a million times it made him feel nothing therefore there was no need to make a fuss about it.

Yet Kris apparently remained completely deaf to Sehun’s promises that it was fine.

 

Kris was clearly hurt by his best friend’s cruel words but the blonde didn’t keep quiet for long before he was ready to shoot back.

 

“You are embarrassed. The fact how ridiculous you find the idea of going out with me as _a joke_ proves it better than anything else.”

“I shouldn’t need to prove you anything. Me telling you how I feel should be enough.”

“How could it be when you never tell me how you feel?”

“I just did.”

“And look where it got us.”

 

They both kept staring at each other, challenging the other to continue. The silence grew longer and longer but after five minutes had passed and when Sehun was already going to turn his attention back to the book, Kris finally sighed in defeat.

 

“Look, I don’t want to argue because of something like this. Let’s just drop it off for now.”

 

That was fine by Sehun since he really didn’t like hurting Kris’ feelings in any way, stubborn or not. The way his eyebrows weren’t furrowed in pissed-off manner anymore was good enough of a signal to show Kris his friend had calmed down too.

“Sure. I’m sorry. I might have said a thing or two I didn’t mean.”

 

Kris simply smiled this time and his smile was nothing but kind and warm.

 

“I’m sorry too, man. I shouldn’t have put pressure on you like that. I’m going to let you study and you’ll see me tomorrow, okay?” Kris stood up from his chair, adjusting his uniform. Sehun picked up his book again.

“Okay.”

 

 

The hallway was nicely quiet when Sehun finally exited the library after a good two hour session of studying for the upcoming exam. This was another reason why he liked to stay in school for some time before leaving; the corridors were free from students who ran around aimlessly and made so much noise that it gave Sehun great headache. Students seemed to enjoy leaving the school building on Friday with making a big scene of the long-waited weekend but Sehun was happy to wait until he could leave without having to hear a single sound.

He was still feeling a little bit anxious about his earlier argument with Kris. They had settled it and apologized, yes, but Sehun was starting to wonder if the school ball was really that big of a deal.

He still wouldn’t go just to please someone else even if the person was his best friend. But maybe he was being too stubborn about it. It’s not like he would have to go alone; he would have Kris as his companion the whole night. Luhan and Yixing would be there too. And Minseok if the boy manages to find a date. And if he became bored or uncomfortable at all, he could just leave whenever he wants and he could say he still went to the ball and that’s something.

Sehun arrived to his locker in no time as ‘buts’ and what ifs’ filled his head. The raven-haired boy decided he would bring the topic up with Kris again at some point. He had to have time to think this over himself before saying a word to Kris about having second thoughts.

And maybe, just maybe, it was because of the soft spot he held for Kris.

 

Sehun opened the lock while sinking in his thoughts, pulling the small door open. But the boy was fully awake and back to the moment when a huge pile of books fell on the floor right when he opened the locker, the loud thud filling the silent hallway.

He had forgotten perfectly how full he had stuffed his tiny locker earlier in the morning. The locker would be just the right size if he only kept his study books and notebooks there but he had also took several books that he had borrowed from the library and put them inside the locker too. Sehun liked reading as many books as possible for exams since thee teachers always appreciated when a student showed extra knowledge that wasn’t included in the official study book.

But right now, Sehun wasn’t proud of himself at all with all the books on the floor.

He sighed in frustration and was just about to kneel on the floor to collect the books before a voice behind him got him by surprise.

 

_“Need any help with those?”_

 

The voice did sound familiar but Sehun wasn’t able to connect the voice to any faces he knew. But it wasn’t just the intruder’s unknown identity that bothered Sehun but also the fact that someone had just managed to creep right behind him without making a sound.

Sehun seemingly stayed silent on his spot far too long because the voice cleared his throat and repeated the question.

 

“I mean the books. Will you let me help with those?”

 

Eventually, Sehun was able to overcome the biggest shock and surprise and turned around slowly to meet the stranger whose identity he was dying to find out by now.

And out of all the people on the planet, Sehun did not expect to see this person standing behind him.

Kim Jongin met Sehun’s confused face with the friendliest smile.

 

The boy had clearly been to the gym since he was still wearing gym clothes that all students had to wear during physical education classes. Another hint of working-out was the trails of sweat running down the boy’s golden-like skin. His brown hair was wiped off his face in attempt to prevent the longest locks of hair from sticking against his still slightly sweaty face and Sehun was given a perfect view of the older guy’s strong yet kind features.

Sehun could still remember the tingling feeling that warmed his body when he first saw Kim Jongin so close last Monday.

But the weird thing was that he didn’t feel that same feeling now when he was standing only few inches away from the same boy. He just didn’t look one bit as intimidating as before with those soft eyes and smiling lips.

Sehun could tell Jongin was going to repeat the question for the third time so Sehun slapped himself mentally to wake himself up from his trance.

Awake or not, Sehun didn’t really know what to say. It wasn’t like he needed any help but it would also be rude to turn down a helping hand when offered one. So the younger debated inside his head for a moment before he managed to breath out a slightly stuttering answer.

 

“…Yeah.”

 

Immediately, Kim Jongin knelt down and started collecting the books as if it was the most normal thing to do. Sehun stood still rather dumbly for few seconds before he knelt down as well and started piling the books hurriedly.

So here he was; collecting books on the floor with one of the most popular boys in the school in a deserted school on Friday evening. It felt so surreal to Sehun that he didn’t even have the time to process anything in his head as he just tried his best to act natural.

And boy, wasn’t that a challenge.

Finally, all the books had been gathered by the two and they both stood up. Sehun avoided looking at the elder as he quickly stuffed the books back inside his locker. He could sense Jongin looking at him.

The locker door was slammed shut and suddenly, Sehun didn’t know what to do at all. What are you supposed to do when a guy you really don’t know or like is suddenly being nice to you and smiling at you as if you were friends? That made zero sense.

Eventually, Sehun got it.

 

“If this is about Yixing, I have nothing to do with him and what he does.” Sehun turned around so he was facing the equally tall boy again, hands crossed over his chest. The look in his eyes was rather cold now since he believed he had figured out the ulterior motive behind all this.

 

Jongin looked beyond confused. But it only took few second until the lamblike boy was smiling again, clearly noticing what Sehun had meant.

 

“Ah, I’m not interested in Yixing and his… businesses.”

 

Sehun was confused again. The confusion was so strong that he didn’t even feel ashamed to stare right back into Jongin’s deep brown eyes, trying to look for an explanation in them.

Sehun could see how the other boy was growing amused.

Embarrassed and unable to know how this situation should be handled, Sehun decided the wisest thing to do is to just leave before things get even more awkward. So after muttering a quick ‘thank you’, Sehun started walking towards the door and towards his escape.

_It’s Kim Jongin it’s Kim Jongin why is he here why does he talk to me why is he smiling what is going on--_

 

“Wait!”

 

Sehun had barely taken few steps before he heard Kim Jongin yelling behind him. Sehun turned around to see the brunette running to him as if he was afraid that the moment was over.

Sehun cocked his eyebrow in a questioning manner. He was grateful to himself he had managed to overcome the biggest shock and had mostly turned back to his usual self, hiding perfectly just how puzzled he was.  


Jongin smiled instantly when Sehun stopped to wait for him. That confusing smile was starting to drive Sehun crazy.

 

“I didn’t have a chance to introduce myself. I’m Kim Jongin.”

 

…Was this guy for real?

Sehun doubted there was a single person left in the whole school that didn’t know Kim Jongin by his name. And Sehun definitely wasn’t that ‘one person’ even if he was significantly disinterested in other people. Or to be more exact; people that weren’t either Kris or Minseok.

Not knowing what else to say, Sehun decided to say the most obvious thing.

 

“Oh Sehun.”

 

Sehun couldn’t believe that smile could become even wider and brighter than before as he uttered his name rather awkwardly. This member of a gang was beaming like sunshine right in front of him.

There was no way he was the same person Sehun had seen around the school for almost two years now and even closer on last Monday during lunchbreak.

 

“No need to tell. I know very well who you are, Oh Sehun.”

 

It wasn’t surprising that Jongin knew Sehun. The raven-haired had his reputation here so having heard the name Oh Sehun once or twice wasn’t an unconvincing thought at all. It was the way how Kim Jongin enunciated those words that made cold chills run down Sehun’s spine.

Taken aback once again, Sehun could only stare at the handsome boy in front of him. And that particular boy stared right back, creating the scene of two boys standing still in a silent hallway with no other soul bothering them.

Sehun was absolutely certain Jongin hadn’t come to him just to help him out. There was something else he wanted; he was sure of that.

But what could it possibly be?

 

Sehun just nodded his head and continued his walk. Jongin didn’t stay behind and continued to walk beside him which by now, was starting to annoy Sehun.

“Why are you leaving so late?” Jongin tried to chit-chat which annoyed Sehun even further.

But Sehun was convinced about one thing now. This was either a big, big trap or the ever-so cool Kim Jongin was actually just a softie.

Sehun had never heard of Chanyeol or his friends lurking for unlucky students to harass after school so the first option seemed far too hard to believe. Not that the second one was believable in any way either.

 

“I was studying.”

“Oh, I see. I’ve heard you study a lot.”

“And I’ve heard you don’t study at all.”

_Shit._

It was meant to be just an unspoken thought but Sehun’s mouth had acted before his brain. He already started doing his final pray in his mind when Jongin suddenly started laughing.

Kim Jongin was laughing.

 

The brunette continued to walk alongside Sehun with his hands stuffed inside his sweatpants, not looking mad at all. Sehun ventured to take a quick glance at the boy beside him to make sure there really was no fists aiming to punch him in the face.

 

“You really are just like people say you are.”

 

Sehun’s eyes widened in shock. Jongin laughed again.

 

“You’re that surprised to hear people talk about you?”

“Um…” Yes, he was.

“I’m surprised too. I was so sure you would have known.”

 

Sehun turned his head again to look at the elder. The latter was looking at him like one would look at a puppy or a kitten. It weirded Sehun out.

Jongin seemed to be completely oblivious to Sehun being very quiet because the boy just continued talking.

 

“They say you’re the smartest person in the whole school yet you’re not much of a people person. That you’re every girl’s dream catch yet you just pass them and go back to your books. That it’s really hard to get close to you unless it’s your best friend.”

“That’s…”

“Not true? I didn’t exactly doubt the rumors but I wanted to go and check myself.”

 

They reached the door and the corridor fell soundless again as their steps didn’t fill the silence anymore. Sehun wanted to push the glass door open and speed-walk to the school entrance and escape the building but he couldn’t make himself move. Sehun stayed still, fist gripping the strap of his backpack, avoiding the older boy’s eyes.

It turns out Sehun didn’t even need to avoid eye contact with the other as Jongin had turned his attention to his mobile phone, apparently reading a text message.

Soon enough he stuffed the phone back to his pocket. Sehun kept looking somewhere past Jongin’s face.

 

“Anyway, I need to go now. Baekhyun wants me to come somewhere.”

 

Byun Baekhyun. That was another person who Sehun really did not want to cross paths with after last Monday. There was something in that boy that hinted he wouldn’t spare anyone who dared to annoy him.

Yixing had been so lucky that he got it all sorted out and wiped his name off Baekhyun’s black list. Sehun wouldn’t be surprised one bit if such a list really existed.

Sehun expected Jongin to leave but the latter still kept smiling dumbly, not moving anywhere.

 

“It was nice to meet you, Sehun. I finally got to talk to you in person.” Jongin finally broke the silence between them.

 _Finally_?

 

“Uh, yeah.” Sehun bit his tongue at how awkward he sounded. He should just walk out the door and let Jongin go look for Baekhyun but he was frozen in his spot, nervous as ever.

 

As if it all had not been enough yet, Jongin seemed to decide it was a good moment to lean in closer so Sehun could literally feel Jongin’s breath on his face, warm and calm.

Jongin examined his junior’s face for a good minute before that wide smile was back on his face with a mischievous glint.

“I’ll see you around, your highness.”

And with that, Jongin stepped back and turned around, starting to walk back to the direction where they both had come from. Sehun stayed still and stared how the elder made his exit and finally turned around the corner, leaving Sehun alone again.

 

Sehun didn’t waste a second. He gained back full control of his body and stormed out the door to the hall, his feet carrying him past the entrance door where he had intended to escape as soon as he would get rid of Kim Jongin. He ran further away from his only way out all the way to the other side of the school building and all the way to boys’ restroom.

The raven pulled the door open with more force than needed and sprinted inside one of the stalls, locking the door behind him.

Sehun was finally able to breathe again. He leaned his back against the stall door, closing his eyes. He hadn’t even noticed how he had been holding his breath back there in the corridor with Jongin.

His mind was finally back in the game too. All the questions that had occurred were back in filling his head, demanding answers to things he couldn’t explain.  

 

Sehun wasn’t afraid of anybody in the school, not even Park Chanyeol. But being confronted by someone from Chanyeol’s gang like that wasn’t a normal thing and Sehun knew that. It wasn’t normal at all.

It wasn’t just a gang of boys who formed the most admired sport team in the whole school if not in the whole province. It was a gang where all the fellows were respected as superiors. There were tons of rumors what the boys did during their free time all the way from illegal drinking to heavy drug-using. Obviously those rumors were told by people who didn’t like the gang but there was no actual information if the rumors were based on truth or not.

And whether it was an admirer or a jealous hater, there was no way one could deny they all were amazing athletes with looks that made the girls go crazy.

And people like that were way out of Sehun’s league no matter if he was called the school prince or not.

_Prince_.  Kim Jongin had distinctly referred to that term with his last words. And it made Sehun’s blood boil in anger.

Sehun had no idea why Kim Jongin had helped him, talked to him or smiled at him. His head was filled with alternative explanations but none of them seemed to make sense. The two didn’t know each other in any way and the first time they had even been in the same space was this week back in that damned lunchroom with Chanyeol and Baekhyun at his sides.

And what was up with Jongin implying that he had been wanting to talk with Sehun before? That he had _finally_ had the chance? They had never had anything to do with each other and staring at the other like a predator when your friends are harassing a drug dealer doesn’t count as anything.

Sehun sighed in agony. Nothing seemed to be right about this.

The only thing that Sehun did know was that if he hated Jongin before, now he absolutely despised him.

No one calls him ‘your highness’ to his face like that and gets through with it.

 

 

Sehun spent a quarter in a locked stall in the boys’ restroom clearing his head before he managed to unlock the door and slowly leave the school building. A part of him seemed to be terrified if there was a possibility of Kim Jongin appearing again so it took the boy some courage to leave the restroom behind him and drag his feet all the way to the entrance door and out, constantly checking if the coast was clear.

The Sun had already started to set when Sehun stepped outside. The weather had become chiller and the thin jacket of his uniform clearly wasn’t enough to keep him warm. Winter might have been over but it was also clear that summer wasn’t close either. Sehun made a mental note to himself to start checking the time more often so he would leave before the air gets cooler from now on.

Normally, Sehun would try to memorize everything he had learnt that day during his walk home. Now his head was way too dizzy from everything that had happened to follow the normal routine.

He had wished for a change, yes. What he hadn’t anticipated was both fighting with Kris and facing Kim Jongin the same day.

Sehun was so tumbled that he almost did not notice how two boys wearing a similar uniform to his were walking ahead of him.

And suddenly, Sehun wanted to run again.

It was no doubt the two boys were no other than Byun Baekhyun and Kim Jongin walking together from school.

The last thing Sehun wanted to mess his head even further was to confront Jongin again and Baekhyun. There was something about the latter that made Sehun just feel uncomfortable. The raven-haired was just about to start looking for a place to hide when the two changed their direction and disappeared behind a corner.

Sehun was able to see both of their faces for a short moment before they vanished from his sight.

Baekhyun seemed to be very eager to explain something to Jongin. Jongin, in the other hand, wasn’t even looking at the shorter boy. He looked totally serious, just nodding his head once or twice to show Baekhyun he was listening.

Sehun couldn’t believe it was the same boy who had been smiling like an innocent angel just twenty minutes ago or so. This was the same intimidating, fierce boy who he had caught staring at him on Monday.

Sehun still couldn't get Kim Jongin out of his mind when he finally escaped the world under his bed sheets that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's one thing I want to clarify! And that's the ages of the characters in this fic.
> 
> So I've noticed that students are a bit younger in American high schools for instance (or so I believe). In my country, high schoolers' ages go like  
> 1st year, 16-17 y.o  
> 2nd year, 17-18 y.o  
> 3rd year, 18-19 y.o
> 
> And I'm following this range in my fic as well! Sehun and Minseok are 2nd year students but all the others a.k.a Kris, Kris' friends and Chanyeol with his group are 3rd year students.


	3. The Pressure

When Saturday finally came by, Sehun was awfully tired.

It wasn’t like him to have any problems with falling asleep. He often pulled an all-nighter without a problem but when he did allow himself to go to bed, he could fall asleep within few minutes after his head hit his pillow. He had dove under the sheets the moment he came back home but thoughts of Kim Jongin filled his head until the morning hours came.

Sehun never cared about people who weren’t either his family or his friends. He was rarely aware of the rumors circling inside his school due to his impressive disinterest in other people so why was Jongin an exception? Jongin acting like a completely different person shouldn’t matter one thing for him.

Sehun came to a rushed conclusion that he was simply worried since having Kim Jongin approaching you privately like that could not mean anything good.

 

The raven-haired pushed the duvet off him and stood up, immediately noticing he definitely had not gotten enough sleep; his head was aching and he had to blink his eyes for a good minute to get rid of the dryness. But he had promised to see Kris today and Sehun didn’t like canceling plans no matter how much he would rather stay in bed and let dreams take him. Sehun could only imagine how the blonde boy would feel if he canceled their plans when they had just settled their argument and apologized to each other.

His backpack was laying on the floor; Sehun recalled throwing it as soon as he had rushed inside his bedroom last night. He had done that, taken off his uniform and gone straight to bed. Normally, he would unpack his stuff carefully and go through a decent night routine before going to sleep. The encounter with Jongin had apparently made him neglectful too.

But deciding to not neglect Kris as well, Sehun picked up his bag to pull out his phone from the small side pocket. A bunch of notifications popped up as soon as he turned it on and the screen lighted up, all of them being unread messages from Kris. The boy had apparently texted him last night too.

Sehun swiped his finger to unlock his phone and opened the chatroom with Kris, sitting back down on his bed to scroll through the messages.

 

_11:07 PM_

_Kris: i know you’re probably buried in your books so i’ll just remind you that you promised yourself to me tomorrow_

_Kris: okay that sounded pretty gay_

_Kris: anyway where do you wanna meet up_

_11:34 PM_

_Kris: answer me you bookworm_

_10:03 AM_

_Kris: sehun, if you’re gonna ditch me then i’ll come to your house and drag you out no matter what you say_

 

Sehun was surprised to notice Kris had sent the last message at ten in the morning. Was it already so late? The boy checked the time from the corner of the screen only to become even more surprised to see it was nearing eleven. He never woke up this late. He had usually eaten his breakfast and dressed up before nine.

Sehun started typing quickly to reply. Kris had clearly been waiting since a message followed almost instantly.

 

_10:57 AM_

_Sehun: I woke up late, sorry. I wasn’t planning to ditch you._

_11:00 AM_

_Kris: wow, even oh sehun can sleep late. you are more normal than i thought_

_Kris: so can i come over? i’m kinda ready to leave and you must be still kissing goodbyes to sandman_

_Sehun: Yeah, sure. I’ll just dress up and check if we had enough food in the fridge for the both of us._

_Kris: nah keep your pajamas on if you want, i don’t mind. makes you cuter_

_11:01 AM_

_Kris: and don’t worry about food, i can stop by a convenience store on the way_

_Kris: i’ll be there in an hour_

_11:02 AM_

_Sehun: Fine._

The phone was then thrown carelessly onto the bed; it was not like Sehun would be checking it anymore. Kris was the only one who texted him frequently so there was no need since the boy was now on his way to his house. An hour was more than enough time to get ready so Sehun considered for a moment if he should just go back to sleep but soon decided against it; he didn’t exactly want to wake up to Kris shaking him awake and laughing at his drowsy state.

And so Sehun dragged his feet towards his closet to pull on a simple t-shirt and a pair of worn-out jeans, all black like most of his wardrobe; colors had never been his thing. Kris had suggested him to stay in his sleepwear but there was no way the younger was going to reveal to Kris that he only slept in his underwear. That’d be beyond embarrassing.

~*~*~

By saying that he was going to drop by a convenience store and bring food with him, Kris had apparently meant he was only going to bring snacks.

They were sitting on the floor in Sehun’s bedroom as Kris dug his hand inside the plastic shopping bag, taking out several cans of soda and colorful packs of potato chips. Sehun wrinkled his nose at the sight of all the unhealthy food presented in front of him which didn’t go unnoticed by Kris who simply let out a laugh and opened a can of coke, bringing it against his lips for a sip. Sehun crossed his legs and sighed in defeat.

 

“I thought you were going to bring some actual food.”

“What are you saying?” Kris smiled after putting down his now-opened coke, handing Sehun his own can. Sehun took it after a short moment of hesitation.

“This is _actual food_ for a high school student.”

 

Sehun figured it would only be a waste of his time to start arguing over the healthiness of Kris’ choices of food so he stayed quiet. The raven-haired took a small sip of his drink and then put the can down beside him; it was not like he was going to finish drinking it. Kris would probably finish it for him after noticing Sehun wasn’t going to touch the can anymore.

 

Kris was wearing a pair of skinny jeans that were so ripped Sehun was left to wonder how those jeans were still wearable. His own father would freak out if he ever got an idea to rip his own jeans the same way as Kris did. He was also wearing a worn-out hoodie with English print in it that Sehun could not translate. His bleached hair was even messier than usual, making Sehun assume it had been windy outside. The soft rattle-sound against the window proved him right.

Sehun actually enjoyed these moments with Kris; they were best friends afterall. He enjoyed chilling with Kris at his house and talking even though it was mostly Kris doing the talking and him just listening. It was one of the reasons why he found himself liking Kris. He appreciated the latter didn’t mind Sehun being an overall quiet person. Kris liked to tease him and laugh at him but Sehun knew that deep down, Kris was one of the nicest people one could come across with.

Things weren’t a single bit awkward even when they had just been fighting over the whole spring ball issue. Kris wasn’t one to stay mad after apologies had been exchanged. Well, the blonde had been mad at Yixing for two days earlier that week but he had never been able to hold grudge against Sehun for longer than an hour; not even when they were kids. Staying mad at Sehun for long was like giving silence treatment for a tree anyway.

 

“Your dad is still out of town?” Kris spoke casually as he opened the first pack of chips, offering it to Sehun first with his hand stretched out. Sehun shook his head.

Kris’ eyebrows furrowed, still holding the pack for Sehun to grab. “Why won’t you have some? I bought these for us.”

“No, thank you. I like the seaweed ones better.”

“That’s nasty.” Kris finally gave up and dug his hand inside the pack himself. Sehun shook his head again, this time in amusement.

“Father is on a business trip. He told me he would be home next week.”

“Uh huh.”

 

Sehun’s father was often absent for work matters ever since Sehun was a child and so he had grown used to an empty house. That’s why the friendship with Kris had really come in handy. Before starting school, Sehun would often find himself bothered by his loneliness but after meeting Kris, he had someone to invite over when he was feeling scared from believing there was a monster inside his closet or when he was feeling lonely as his father had to work over business hours. Kris had almost felt like a real older brother during those times.

It was funny how close they still were to this day even though they grew to be two completely opposite kind of people.

Kris was so full of life.

And Sehun was starting to notice he had forgotten what it feels like to be alive.

 

They spent roughly an hour just talking about random things. Kris complained how he couldn’t stand living under the same roof with his parents anymore and how his new neighbor’s dog still kept barking throughout the night. Sehun didn’t have much to tell other than how stressful he had been for the upcoming exams which was no news. Exams always stressed Sehun.

Sehun didn’t mind the chitchat but there was something he was dying to ask from Kris. His body was starting to become stiff while waiting for a chance to interrupt Kris’ ongoing complaining about his neighbor’s terrier. Finally, the elder boy shut up for a moment to refill his mouth with a handful of chips and Sehun saw his chance.

 

“So, um… Kris?”

“Yeah?” Kris’ attention was back on Sehun as he licked his fingers clean from the salt. Sehun found it gross.

“What do you know about Kim Jongin?”

 

That really took Kris off-guard. Sehun saw how Kris’ eyes widened in surprise and how the surprise soon turned into suspicion.

 

“Why would you want to know anything about Kim Jongin?” Kris’ tone sounded weirded out as if Sehun had asked him if cats could fly.

“Just answer the question?” Sehun was slowly growing anxious. He just wanted answers.

“There is nothing to tell you about Kim Jongin that you don’t already know.” Kris shifted his position and looked away, clearly not wanting to prolong this conversation. “He’s an arrogant brat like the rest of the group. Credit for the sport teams and definitely an upcoming school-dropout.”

 

And Kris was right; Sehun knew all of that and that was exactly why he didn’t like Kim Jongin either. The problem was that Jongin back at his locker that Friday afternoon was not just an arrogant brat; that Jongin had been teasing him as if they were friends but the boy had also been very curious as if he wanted to actually know Oh Sehun the school prince.

 

“You’re right, I know that”, Sehun spoke quietly, trying to make eye contact with Kris who was still avoiding his eyes for god knows why. “But that cannot be everything you know about him. So please, tell me.”

Finally, Kris’ eyes were back on Sehun’s but his gaze was nowhere near friendly. Kris looked annoyed and ready to snap. “Why do you care about him? He’s probably stoned and fucking some chick as we speak.”

“But he told me he wasn’t interested in Yixing’s drug dealing.”

“He told you what?”

 

… _Shit_.

The words had just left his mouth without any thinking and now Kris knew Sehun had talked with Jongin. And fair enough, Kris looked a bit offended which Sehun understood though didn’t admit. If there was someone who disliked Chanyeol’s people more than Sehun, it was definitely Kris.

There just had to be a bigger reason for why exactly it had angered the blonde teen to hear Yixing was connected with the notorious group even though it was purely about business matters. That had only proved Kris’ hatred was stronger than Sehun had first thought.

And here he was; sitting across from Kris on the floor as the latter looked at him as if he had been betrayed. The silence was long and filled with tense atmosphere. Sehun wished he had put the radio on or something.

 

Sehun didn’t really understand himself why he was acting like his encounter with Jongin was to be kept as a secret. For some reason, he liked to think that moment had been private; forbidden from other people to hear and start a rumor about. The raven-haired doubted Jongin had told anyone either how the guy who was allegedly part of a gang had crossed paths with the valedictorian school royalty – casually picking up study books on top of that.

But now when he really thought of it, Sehun saw no reason to not let Kris know what had happened. He had been able to share almost everything with Kris since forever and some annoying yet dreadfully handsome high school boy should not in any means be an exception.

 

“He came to talk to me after I left the library yesterday.”

Kris looked like he wasn’t believing Sehun at all. Sehun tried to look even more serious than usual to convince his friend he was being honest.

“Why?” A simple question with no specific tone that’d reveal what its speaker was thinking about. Slightly creepy.

“I wish I knew”, the younger sighed, feeling a bit relieved now for sharing his little secret. Kris crossed his arms, eyebrows still furrowed in concentration. “He helped me pick up my books and started talking to me.”

“What did you talk about?”

“Why do you sound like a prosecutor?” Sehun frowned in displeasure.

“Sorry.” Kris didn’t sound sorry at all. Sehun rolled his eyes.  


“Not much. He told me some rumors that he had heard about me and how he wanted to find out their accuracy and…” The younger hesitated for a second. “…He also confessed he had wanted to talk to me for longer.”

Sehun purposefully left out the part when Jongin had leant closer and whispered “your highness” right against his ear. That still made his blood boil too much.

“That sounds very unbelievable, you know that, Sehun? Those guys tend to stay within their own circle and not pay attention to others unless you’re some hot chick or if you have a beef with them. And last time I checked, you’re a dude with a dick and you only ever fight with me.”

“You think I don’t know that? I also don’t understand what on Earth he’s thinking about!”

 

That seemed to appease Kris. His stiff shoulders dropped down as his expression finally softened, thick brows no longer furrowed together in an angry manner.

 

“Sorry, man. I guess I overreacted a bit. It’s just because you hadn’t told me anything and you know how iffy I am about those guys…”

“Of course I understand”, Sehun sighed, rubbing his temples. He was starting to doubt he was going to get any answers anymore which had been his only goal with bringing Jongin’s name up. “I didn’t even have a chance to tell you earlier. It happened just yesterday.”

“I get it.” Kris tossed his now-empty can aiming to the trash bin, missing it narrowly. Sehun’s glare was enough to make his friend stand up on his feet to go pick up the can of coke from the floor.

“It’s just that for a second, I was wondering if you’ve actually befriended that guy.” The blonde came back to sit on the floor beside Sehun this time. The elder boy’s comment made Sehun frown.

He’d rather fail his finals than call Kim Jongin or anybody else in the group his friend.

…Or maybe not. An awful jackass of a friend was still better than a failed exam. That’d just shatter Sehun’s world down.

 

Kris was looking at him with a weird look in his eyes as if he wanted assurance Sehun really had no interest in Kim Jongin or anybody else within his friend group. But the mere idea was way too surreal so Sehun stayed quiet; there was no need to reply to something as ridiculous as that.

Jongin might be fucking with him or sincerely interested in him but even if he was, it definitely wasn’t out of friendly feelings.

Kris seemed to pick up with Sehun’s thoughts and didn’t insist an answer. Sehun hoped Kris had realized himself just how stupid he had sounded.

  
“Anyway, I’ll keep an eye on Kim Jongin from now on. For you.”

~*~*~

The hallway was so noisy that Sehun had to cover his ears while trying to drift his way through the crowds of students. It was easier said than done since the groups were blocking the mid area and the boy had to sidle with his back pressed against the wall, stepping sideways towards his next class. A sudden paper airplane almost hit him in the process.

Sehun always came early and left late in order to avoid this. But the throng is unavoidable during breaks when he has to change the classroom in time without being late. It felt like being inside one of those Indiana Jones video games that Kris loved to play.

At last, Sehun reached the history classroom. With his side still pressed against the wall, he opened the door and stepped inside. Sehun was grateful for his history teacher for keeping the door open during breaks. Waiting for the class to start in the hallway wasn’t exactly very enjoyable.

 

Sehun spotted Luhan sitting at the front row as usual. They both liked to come inside the classroom before the bell rings to avoid the worst rush. The history class was the only class Sehun shared with Kris’ friends and Sehun was happy it was with Luhan. Yixing was chill and Tao was alright but it was Luhan whose personality matched with Sehun’s the best.

The elder boy was staring at his phone with headphones on so he didn’t notice Sehun until the latter took a seat next to him. Sehun saw Luhan’s body stiffening but the boy’s face immediately broke into a smile when he turned his head to see Sehun. He quickly removed his headphones and stuffed them inside his bag.

 

“Oh, hey! How was your weekend?”

Sehun couldn’t help but smile as he picked his belongings from his backpack. Luhan was always so enthusiastic.

 

“It was fine. I hung out with Kris and studied.”

“Yeah, I heard. I was at Tao’s to play games on Saturday and Tao invited Kris too. Kris declined and said he was going to go to your house.”

Sehun shifted in his chair uncomfortably. He could imagine very well what Tao’s reaction must have been.

 

“I feel kind of sorry for Tao”, Sehun confessed quietly. They rarely addressed the elephant in the room which was Tao’s obvious crush on Kris. They didn’t even dare use the word ‘crush’ out loud.

“Don’t be”, Luhan reassured. “He understood Kris had other plans. It’s just that Kris rarely visits Tao’s place. We’re usually at Yixing’s but whenever we decide to crash Tao’s house, Kris usually has other places to be at.”

Sehun just nodded as Luhan’s words managed to calm him down a bit. Maybe he was just paying too much attention to this whole issue between Tao and Kris.

 

Sehun wasn’t very aware what Kris did during his free time when he was spending it with Tao, Luhan and Yixing. He had never joined the group outside of school and he didn’t really have any urges to change that; he was busy with school twenty-four-seven and whenever he did have time to see Kris, Kris wanted it to be just the two of them.

The raven-haired also knew the Chinese boys did more illicit things that Sehun didn’t want to be a part of. They went to parties and drank sometimes; Kris’ occasional drunken phone calls were a good proof of that. Sehun also suspected they smoked too. He just hoped it was only Yixing who smoked the heavier stuff.

 

“Hey, Sehun…” Luhan’s hesitant voice caught his attention again. He had been in the middle of wondering if Yixing has tiny weed leaves painted on his bedroom walls.

“Yes?”

“This is probably going to sound very odd but…” The brunette clasped his hands nervously. Sehun cocked his eyebrow in curiosity.

“…Do you know if Minseok has a date for the spring ball?”

 

Sehun’s eyes widened in surprise. He definitely hadn’t seen that coming.

His reaction clearly had Luhan panicking since the boy was quick to unclasp his hands to raise them up as if as a sign of surrender.

 

“I just thought you might know since you’re friends with him! It’s fine if you don’t.”

“Um, I don’t think he has. He certainly wants to go, though. We were just talking about it few days ago.”

Luhan’s eyes lit up in excitement. The nervousness from earlier seemed to have exited his body in a second. “Do you think he would go with me if I asked him?”

 

Sehun recalled Luhan saying that one day at the lunchroom he had picked a person he’d want to go with to the ball. It had never even crossed his mind that person could be his school friend Minseok or any other boy in general.

Sehun had never been to the futile event himself but he doubted it was nowhere near usual to see a boy couple there. Kris and he would have made an exception but that would have only happened as a light-minded joke.

He had known Tao to lean more towards guys since Kris was a living proof of that but it had never occurred to him Luhan might be that way too. But it was definitely for the fact it was Minseok that Luhan mentioned that took Sehun by surprise.

 

“To be honest, I don’t know. Why Minseok though?”

“Oh, I’ve liked him for quite some time now. But don’t tell anybody else. I don’t want this thing to blow up.”

And with that, the bell finally rang and students started rushing inside the classroom, trying to get all the good seats at the back row. Sehun gave Luhan a soft look before starting to go through his notes. The younger was still left to wonder how Luhan knew Minseok but didn’t find the courage to ask. Luhan probably didn’t want to answer anyway.

 

“Your secret is safe with me. Good luck.”

Luhan’s smile was too sweet to not return to. “Thank you, Sehun. You’re always so nice.”

 

Sehun decided to skip the lunch again to go study in the library. He hadn’t seen Kris around at all but the boy was probably eating lunch with his usual group. Sehun had given in and promised to tutor Kris again today so there was no way the blonde was going to skip that unless he was dead-sick.

The library was the quietest during lunchbreak so Sehun had a chance to really focus on reading through the long chapters on the Cold War. He was twenty minutes in scribbling notes and flipping pages when a sudden shadow hovered over his book.

Expecting to see Kris smirking down at him, Sehun lifted his head to meet his interrupter.

Sehun wasn’t one to have very big reactions but the sight of Jongin startled him enough to make him wince and almost drop down off his chair.

 

Jongin had his hands stuffed inside his pockets casually, the same playful smirk from last Friday dancing on his lips. The tanned boy was clearly amused over Sehun’s reaction.

 

“Oops, sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.”

Sehun couldn’t help how his eyes squinted.

He had spent an entire weekend trying to sort out what exactly he felt towards Kim Jongin but now when he was facing the devil himself again, the only thing he felt towards him was annoyance.

 

“Yeah, right.” Disbelief was clear in the raven-haired’s voice. Jongin’s smirk grew wider.

 

Sehun crossed his hands over his chest as he observed Jongin taking a seat next to him, turning the chair sideways so he could rest his elbow against the back lazily. Even the way he sat on a chair made him look like the cockiest person on the planet. Sehun fought against the urge to drag his own chair farther.

Sehun had wondered if he and Jongin would cross paths again. What he hadn’t seen coming was that their encounter would take place this soon. He had been preparing to wait for weeks until answers would start to come his way but now Sehun was starting to question if Jongin intentionally came for him every time when no one else was around. A quick glance around the large room confirmed it really was just the two of them in the whole library.

Unlike last time, Jongin was wearing his uniform but since it seemed impossible for the bad boys to follow the dress code, the tanned boy had left the two top buttons of his jacket open and the whole uniform was quite wrinkled. Sehun couldn’t survive one week without ironing his own.

 

Jongin had only stared at him for few seconds but Sehun was already growing uneasy under the intense stare. That was the only reason he opened his mouth first.

 

“Can I help you with something?”

Jongin pursed his lips as if considering for a second before shaking his head.

“Well, if not then I’d like to get back to studying. If you don’t mind.”

“Oh, but I do mind.”

Sehun shot Jongin a very displeased look.  “Then what is it?”

 

Curiosity was added to Sehun’s annoyed state when Jongin suddenly broke their eye contact and the stupid grin finally faded as if the elder was trying to find the right words to answer Sehun’s question. For a short moment, Sehun felt like he was the one in control of their scene as he spotted Jongin licking his lips nervously before meeting Sehun’s eyes again with the same conceited smile.

 

“I felt kind of bad for leaving you so soon last Friday. I was planning to stay much longer but my friend Baekhyun was very persistent.”

“Then I’m glad to tell you there’s nothing to feel bad about. I was busy anyway.”

“But I’d still like to compensate it.

 “No need.”

“But I insist. Would you come to see me and the boys play after school?”

 

 _What_.

Jongin didn’t leave his companion a chance to reply as he continued, completely oblivious to Sehun’s shocked state. “We’re just going to have a quick game for practice. It won’t take long, I assure you.”

Sehun looked at Jongin as if he had just asked him for a honeymoon.

 

“That’s your way of compensating? I’m not even interested in sports.”

“Yeah, I figured”, Jongin gave Sehun a long stare from head to toe. Sehun didn’t believe he had ever wanted to punch Kris as much as he wanted to punch Kim Jongin right now.

“I decline.”

Jongin furrowed his eyebrows as if he hadn’t expected such an answer. “We rarely ask anyone come and watch our practice, you know.”

“I’m sure one of your fangirls would love to come. Too bad I’m not one.” Sehun wanted to high five himself. _Take that, you brat_.

“Definitely not”, Jongin’s tone was amused but the emotion didn’t match his face. He was like a child in front of a new challenge. “You’re the ice prince afterall.”

 

Minutes passed as the two boys only stared at each other; the younger looking both tired and pissed whereas the elder was clearly intrigued and waiting for the conversation to go on, ready to snap back something witty. Sehun was starting to believe this was some sort of a game in which he had yet to succeed in figuring out the rules.

Sehun was impressively good at keeping a straight face and staying calm but Jongin was starting to really piss him off. The fact he had no idea why Jongin wanted anything to do with him only provoked his growing frustration. The first time they had talked to each other, Jongin had been teasing and snide but there had also been the slightest hint of friendliness in him. But that hint was now gone and replaced with dare and Sehun’s annoyance was now far greater than back then.

Sehun figured it’d be for the best to try to remain as disinterested as possible despite of his growing anger.

 

“I’m sorry but I already promised to tutor my friend today. I don’t have the time.” At least he didn’t need to lie for an excuse. He _was_ supposed to meet Kris after the last period today.

“Oh, the taller prince? He surely can wait.”

 _Stop calling us by such names, you skunk_. “Yeah he could, but I could not. I have to study by myself too.”

“Come on, I’m only trying to be nice here.”

I appreciate it”, well, that _was_ a lie. “But I really don’t have the time.”

“Lies.”

 

Both of the boys now had their hands crossed over their chests, eyes meeting each other with burning dare. The lunchbreak was seemingly about to end too as Sehun could hear people starting to gather in the hallways. Some students walked past the open library door, few of them giving the two reputational boys curious glances.

 

Ever since the first encounter, Sehun was starting to feel like his… _thing_ with Jongin and him was like a rollercoaster and they were now reaching a peak before the abrupt fall. Sehun might be viewed as a calm person but there was a reason why he wasn’t really close with anyone but Kris; he was one of the only people who didn’t mind Sehun’s temperament. And Jongin had clearly underestimated the person that was known as the quiet, valedictorian prince; Sehun didn’t set his foot _anywhere_ he did not want to and his calmness had its limits.

The only thing he still wanted from Jongin was answers. Why was he tagging him like this? For his father’s money? They weren’t that rich of a family. For Yixing’s connections? Sehun still wanted to believe Jongin wasn’t really a user. Was he asked to do this by Chanyeol? There was no reason for that bullying brat to be interested in anyone but himself.

And okay, maybe getting answers was not the only thing. Slapping the cocky teen across the face was slowly becoming Sehun’s wet dream.

 

“I don’t care if you think I’m a liar.” Sehun finally broke the silence, his voice quiet and calm but even Jongin must have caught something menacing in his tone. “You’re very weird to even ask me to come see you play.”

“How is it weird? It is an invitation only few people ever get.”

“So? Am I supposed to enjoy it or what?”

“Of course you are”, Jongin was suddenly smirking again and something in that expression gave Sehun goosebumps. “A bunch of good-looking boys playing sports and showing their figure… And the best part is that I am there as well.”

That would have sounded flirtatious if self-congratulatory hadn’t stunk so horribly.

 

“Why would I ever enjoy something like that?” Sehun maintained his calmness though Jongin had succeeded in making him feel flushed.

“Do you not?” Jongin actually looked a bit surprised, leaning back on his chair. “Then what’s up with the whole thing between you and Wu Kris?”

“We’re not like _that_.” Sehun muttered in embarrassment. Just what the hell was this guy implying?

“Really?” Jongin looked away for a few second in thoughts as if trying to decide if hearing Sehun’s words was a good thing or not.

 

Sehun had slowly grown more and more close to hit his absolute limit with Jongin but the implication the latter had just done was officially the last straw for the raven-haired. His nails were now digging to his own upper arms painfully in an attempt to restrain himself.

 

Jongin’s attention was quickly back on his companion. “I still insist you to-“

“As I told you a million times already, I’m not coming. You’re being very rude, Kim Jongin. I wish you to leave now.”

“You even speak like a royalty.” Jongin grinned, showing his teeth. “This is a public place, you know.”

“If you’re not leaving, then I am. Your choice.”

“Ah, how mean you are”, the brunette finally stood up slowly, towering over Sehun. “And temperamental. Just remember my invitation is still open.”

 

A playful smirk and a lingering look on Sehun and Jongin was then out the room, walking casually with hands back inside his pockets as if nothing had ever happened. Sehun watched him go and stayed still for a moment before mentally slapping himself awake from his trance.

Sehun left the library soon after since writing notes wasn’t very productive when the only things he wanted to write down repeatedly was confessions of his burning hate towards Jongin.

~*~*~

Sehun kept staring his phone screen as if looking at his and Kris’ chatroom demandingly enough would make the blonde boy come online. He had sent the last message ten minutes ago but Kris was still not answering nor showing up to the now-empty library.

The boy was already on edge for not being able to concentrate on class after talking with Jongin at this very table so he saw himself being overly nice for still agreeing to tutor Kris who was such a helpless case to begin with. But he hadn’t seen Kris today at all and since the guy was not even answering his messages, Sehun started to pack his things.

Sehun didn’t wish to admit it but it wasn’t just thanks to his so-called ‘altruistic tendencies’ that he had still chosen to stay at school to tutor Kris; he didn’t want to go home and be left alone with his thoughts right now. Keeping his thoughts away from Kim Jongin was the best way to handle this and Kris was a master of pulling all attention to himself.

The teen lifted up his backpack and checked his phone for the last time for a possible notification from Kris only to see an empty screen. It was already nearing 3 PM. Kris was half an hour late now.

There was a knock against the door at the same time as Sehun slipped his phone back to his pocket. Sehun prayed to gods the person would be Kris and not Jongin as he turned around, only to see the intruder was neither of them.

 

“I hope I’m not interrupting”, Kim Junmyeon smiled gently at the door. Sehun furrowed his eyebrows, hand still gripping the strap of his backpack.

 

Junmyeon was one of the less annoying ones in Chanyeol’s group. Sehun obviously didn’t know the boy but he had noticed Junmyeon wasn’t nearly as loud as the others and there were no nasty rumors circling around him in particular. Sehun didn’t pay much attention to the maroon-haired boy but he had noted the elder did participate in classes unlike his friends, sharing his opinions with the class from time to time. Even his facial features were much softer than many others’.

And unlike Jongin, Junmyeon wasn’t acting like a cocky brat as he approached Sehun. It still didn’t stop Sehun’s body from stiffening since he was smart enough to understand Junmyeon was probably here to continue the same conversation he had shared with Jongin just few hours ago. Did Jongin really just send his friend to try and convince him? Sehun couldn’t help but chuckle. How pathetic.

 

“No, you’re not.” Sehun didn’t find the guts to be snappy towards Junmyeon since the latter wasn’t being like that either. Junmyeon just hummed and sat on the low table, staying few meters away from Sehun.

“I believe you know already why I’m here”, Junmyeon’s voice was incredibly soft and nice and Sehun found himself calming down a little. Something was telling him the elder wasn’t here to persuade him.

“You’re here to ask me the same thing as Kim Jongin did.”

“You’re very right”, the shorter boy crooked his leg, hugging it close to his chest. His smile still hadn’t gone anywhere. “He urged me to come and ask you again if you would have possibly changed your mind. I don’t usually do these kind of things for him but I know Jongin well enough. He always comes off very pressing when he means well and tries to be nice.”

“He wasn’t being nice at all. He was very snide and rude.”

“I’m sorry he’s like that. He doesn’t take the word ‘no’ very well. That’s usually the point he forgets to be nice.”

“Then why does he want me to come?”

 

Sehun wasn’t able to hide the distress in his voice. Jongin hadn’t answered this question for him but he hoped Junmyeon could do it. It was slowly eating him alive to not know what Jongin was after.

Junmyeon simply tilted his head when met with the desperate look in Sehun’s eyes.

 

“I’m afraid I can’t give you a satisfying answer. I believe he has simply taken an interest in you, Oh Sehun.”

“Why me?” Sehun pressed, taking a few steps towards the elder without noticing.

“That is also a question I cannot answer very well. He actually used to be annoyed people gave you the nickname of a school prince and not him. I see he has had a change of mind.”

“I still do not understand”, Sehun finally sighed in defeat, shoulders dropping down. Apparently even Jongin’s friend – the nicest friend he probably had above all – was unable to kill this flame of curiosity in him.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t give you any answers”, Junmyeon hopped off the table to stand in front of Sehun, standing much shorter than him. “If you let me give you any advice, I will suggest you to take his offer and come with me. I’m obviously not going to force you but I think it’s easier for you to find out Jongin’s reasons if you accept his invitation.

If it makes you feel any better, I don’t believe his intentions to be bad. And it is not our group that is interested in you but only Jongin himself.”

 

Now when Sehun thought it over, Junmyeon’s words made a lot of sense. He could keep trying to avoid Jongin and live in his confused state or he could stop running and look for the answers.

The gentle look in Junmyeon’s dark crescent moon eyes was enough to convince Sehun.

 

“Fine, I’ll come.”

“Let’s go then.”

 

 

Sehun had been afraid it would be awkward to walk along with Kim Junmyeon but the raven-haired actually found himself liking this guy who he had never spoken to before. He had thought Junmyeon and the rest of the group to be like Chanyeol and Jongin but Junmyeon was surprisingly nice as he kept on the small-talk that Sehun struggled to respond to.

Sehun didn’t understand why a person like Junmyeon hung out with such a group. Maybe he wasn’t as sweet and nice as he seemed to be.

Junmyeon had to excuse himself to go change his clothes in the locker room so Sehun was left alone to make his way outside to the playing field. The weather was still a bit chill and Sehun unconsciously hugged himself for warmth. He already spotted few boys on the field who were simply tossing the ball for warm-up. Sehun couldn’t understand how those boys weren’t cold for only wearing simple gym clothes.

Sehun’s steps were unsure when he walked up the wooden stairs to the grandstand that had already seen its best days. He had only been here once back when he had been a first-year student and Kris had insisted they’d go and watch one of those stupid basketball matches. The grandstand had been filled with students back then. Sehun felt weird having to take his seat when there was no-one else sitting with him.

It was quite surprising that he indeed was alone. The team had practiced and had its matches inside the gym hall for the whole winter so no one could really go and watch them play but it was one of the first times this spring that they were training outside and anyone could come to watch them.

Unless no one else were informed they’d play today, Sehun reminded himself.

Sehun felt uncomfortable sitting there alone and sifted his position awkwardly every time he felt like one of the players was watching him oddly. He considered changing his seat to the more upper rows of seats but that would make him look even weirder.

_Just why on Earth did I agree to come here?_

“Sehun!”

 

Sehun raised his head to see Jongin jogging towards the grandstand, unable to cover his smile after spotting his invited guest having arrived afterall. The younger had never felt so stupid in his life. What was he supposed to say to Jongin?

Jongin stopped and planted his arms against the railing to lean closer to Sehun. Sehun was only able to see the boy’s head as the stand was standing a bit higher off the ground, leaving Sehun much taller even though he was sitting. Sehun crossed his legs and looked away, not knowing how to react to Jongin’s beaming smile.

 

“So you decided to come afterall.”

“Only because of your friend. It was very poor from you to send your friend to ask me, by the way.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Jongin didn’t seem to be let down at all from Sehun’s snappy comment.

 

“Jongin, get your ass here! We’re not going to wait for you!”

Sehun lifted his gaze to see the players had already been divided to teams. Junmyeon was also there, waving his hand when his eyes caught Sehun’s. All the others were still looking oddly at Sehun, certainly wondering why Oh Sehun out of all people was there but no one seemed to be too bothered about it.

Sehun then lowered his eyes back to Jongin, expecting the tanned boy to already be running to the field to join his team the latter he was still looking at Sehun with his chin resting against his forearms, smiling goofily.

 

I’ve got to go know. The losing team is going to buy the drinks for a party this weekend. You will cheer for me, right, Prince?”

 

Sehun felt his phone buzzing in his pocket and knew immediately it had to be Kris calling him but the raven-haired couldn’t make himself care right now. His eyes were locked with Jongin’s and the more he stared into those dark orbs, the more embarrassed and flushed he felt. Sehun knew he was blushing but the boy reminded himself he had only come here in order to get answers later on and there was no room for awkwardness.

 

“You wish.”

“As harsh as expected. But since you came here as I asked, I will win this one for you in return.” Jongin flashed his final smile before turning around and running back to the field to start the game.

Sehun felt his phone going silent before starting to buzz again but ended up ignoring it as the match began.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are always appreciated!


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